Elderly woman says bus driver mocked her with goat calls

A 65-year-old woman has accused a bus driver of mocking her in front of a bus full of people by making goat calls at her as she was trying to help an elderly passenger.

The woman, who contacted this newsroom, said the driver was in his 20s and took exception to her trying help the other passenger while on the X3 bus in Bugibba during the Summer Carnival.

Speaking to this newsroom on condition of anonymity, the woman explained that she was assisting an older woman who needed to get to Paola by bus.

“It all started when a white bus ‘X3’, with registration number DPY 035 approached the bus stop we were waiting at in Bugibba. A few minutes before the bus arrived, I was approached by an elderly woman who asked me to help her find the bus she should catch to get to her destination.

“When the bus pulled over, another person in the queue asked the driver if the bus was on its way to Valletta. The driver replied ‘no’.

“When I asked the driver if the bus was going to Valletta or if it was at least passing through the city, I was met with this reply: “Itla, kemm ghandek h**a ma s****k’.

“On speaking to me like this, I politely told him to stop being so arrogant and that nobody ever spoke to me in such a disrespectful manner. He continued to insult me by calling me a goat (moghza),” she added.

The next thing she knew, he started to mimic a goat while she was struggling to find a seat to help the other lady who had requested her assistance. The exchange of words persisted and this is when she warned the driver that she would be lodging a complaint against him.

Woman lodges report to Malta Transport to no avail

Offended by the disrespectful manner he treated her, she plucked up the courage to lodge a complaint to the bus operator, Malta Public Transport.

Her telephone complaint was met by a person at the other end of the line, who she said was helpful, but told her that she would not be able to track the complaint once it has been lodged.

Two weeks have passed since she lodged the complaint but nobody has contacted her from Malta Transport, despite stating that she would be prepared to give her side of the story if anyone bothered to call her. She was also told by the Malta Transport representative who answered her telephone call that the bus is question is one hired by Malta Public Transport.